Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
On the effort of the Swope Park Rangers players tonight…
Tremendous. I thought [Tomas] Granitto was very good. His positioning, his passing accuracy, all those things were fantastic. You could see it in the Swope Park Rangers games, in a lot of situations where Nansel [Selbol] has come into games, he has controlled his side and put his man under pressure a lot. Tonight, he was very good and unfortunate because he probably could have had one or two more goals through the run of play. He finds himself in very good spots and winds up getting himself out of tight areas. He had a very good performance. I think all the guys that came up were good. [Ever] Alvarado having to play on the right side was good. [Alex] Molano was good in possession. It was good all around. I think [Cameron] Porter did a really good job as a center forward. He had good movement off the ball. The goal that he scored was a tremendous run and a great ball by Granitto. I just think all the guys played really well.
On Cameron Porter’s performance…
We have always known that his best position was a No. 9, but with Diego [Rubio] there, he was the next player. With him being injured, [Cameron] Porter now has a chance to step up and I think tonight was good for him. He showed a lot of different things that were important for us moving forward because his movement off the ball was very good and that’s something we need out of that position.
On getting some senior team players minutes tonight ahead of Sunday’s regular season finale…
We have a lot of guys injured. We have a lot of guys coming back from injury. The fact that all those guys were able to get 90 minutes on a Wednesday night and then we have our game on Sunday, everybody is available. Even Jimmy [Medranda], the fact that he had the red card suspension in the last game, for him to get back in the rythme of play and have another game and not spend two or three weeks out of play, that was huge for us.
Sporting KC forward Cameron Porter
On the goal…
The biggest thing is, first goal for Sporting KC but also first goal since my knee injury. Just getting the weight of your chest, it feels nice to get that confidence.
On the match being a tale of two halves…
I felt like we had good control of the match. We kept the ball in their half a lot. Obviously, they had the one opportunity where they got forward and got the goal. I think coming into the second half, we needed to be a little more dangerous on those final balls, and I think we were. We pushed the tempo a little bit and once we got the lead, we controlled the match and saw it out.
On playing center forward….
It feels really good. I’m definitely more comfortable there, but I appreciate playing anywhere. My biggest thing is wherever the coach wants me, I’ll put the effort there. It’s all for the team.
On the integration between the Sporting KC and Rangers players…
I think it was good to have at least a core of the Swope players in the midfield who have at least played together a lot. They were working well together and that made it easier for the guys up top to find open balls and get into positions that were dangerous.
Sporting KC forward Nansel Selbol
On the goal…
I feel very happy about the game. I thank [Manager Peter Vermes] for giving me the opportunity to play today. I was very happy to score the goal because I am playing for the first team and it’s a big opportunity and a chance for me.
If the goal makes it easier to cope with not playing Sunday…
I want to play Sunday, but because of the card I can’t play right now. I know my team will do well and win the Cup.
On hitting two shots off the post tonight…
I thought that was in. The goalkeeper didn’t even see it and the defender didn’t know I was going to play it. Already, I was trying to turn and celebrate, but unfortunately it didn’t happen like that.
Sporting KC midfielder Tomas Granitto
On playing against Central FC…
​With the Rangers, we have been playing well, so we feel prepared for these kinds of games and luckily that's how it worked.
On the opportunity for Swope Park Rangers players to play with the first team in CCL competition...
It's a great opportunity for us and also we really appreciate the confidence that [Manager] Peter [Vermes] gave us by starting us today. The team played well, we played well and this gives us the confidence to play Sunday in the [USL Cup] final in New York.
On the integration with the first team...
We train together. Peter invites us to train and we get the mentality that Peter wants to give the club. How he wants us to play, what he wants us to do on the field, so that shows that it's working with the Rangers and with Sporting.
On the pass to Cameron [Porter] on the team's first goal...
I saw all their defenders going to one side and we talked about Cam making a run down the middle and luckily it worked out. We had talked about it before. I said, when you have a chance to make a run down the middle, make it and I'll give you the ball and luckily it was a goal.
Sporting KC midfielder Alex Molano
On making his Sporting Kansas City debut…
It was an amazing feeling, great experience, very fun to play in the stadium and playing that type of soccer, it was an amazing time.
On his performance…
I thought I had a pretty good first half, confidence was high. (I was) keeping the ball, creating some good chances, it was just fun all around.
On rallying in the second half to come back and win…
Just keep doing what we were doing, keep going at them. We were creating a lot of chances, we knew we were going to get a goal and that’s what we did right away.
On playing alongside his Swope Park Rangers teammates…
It was really good to see my teammates from the Rangers do well today, Tomas (Granitto) had an assist, Nansel (Selbol) had a goal – it was really fun.
